Caring about the homeless ‘against Premier League selfishness values’

Crystal Palace Football Club has been condemned by Premier League bosses after opening the doors of its Selhurst Park ground to members of the homeless community. In sub-zero temperatures, rough sleepers are being offered a free hot meal, a camp bed for the night and breakfast in the morning. Such caring, humanitarian attitudes are totally contrary to the principles of corporate greed on which the Premier League is based, and charges of bringing the game into repute may follow.

A Premier League spokesman confirmed that the incident is being investigated as Sky TV were not called upon to rearrange opening times to make them more inconvenient for those wishing to attend. ‘And when places became available, no preference was given to big business sponsors, media representatives or those willing to pay huge sums to entertain rich clients,’ he said. ‘It appears that there was no commercial motivation for the practice whatsoever, and that is a serious breach of what the Premier League is all about.’

Crystal Palace chief executive Phil Alexander has defended the policy, explaining that the Club is part of the local community and therefore has a duty of care to all members of society. ‘We’re also used to looking after the unwashed, as we accommodate around 30,000 of them on a matchday,’ he added.

<Grudging credit where it’s due to Palace, good to hear – but I couldn’t resist a little dig at the end>